Grand Theft Kitsap

James Branaman | Kitsap Sun
Ash Daignault holds a photo of his 2003 Hyundai Elantra that was stolen from the Kitsap Mall in December 2005. The vehicle was found the next day in Belfair with the windows broken, interior slashed and stereo equipment and other items stolen. Daignault is now forced to drive his backup vehicle, a 1988 Jeep Cherokee.

Steve Zugschwerdt | Kitsap Sun
State Patrol Officer Brian George demonstrates how an altered ignition is used to start a car that was stolen.

Steve Zugschwerdt | Kitsap Sun
One popular item to steal from a car is the air bag. They are sold on the black market at a price less than the replacement cost.

Steve Zugschwerdt | Kitsap Sun
VIN numbers are often altered, replaced or removed to hide he identity of the car.

Steve Zugschwerdt | Kitsap Sun
Car ignitions are often removed or operated in the car by using keys that are similar to the actual key made for the car.

Steve Zugschwerdt | Kitsap Sun
Simple tools, a slim jim, top, a screwdriver, and a dent remover are the basic set of tools car thieves use to steal cars.

Ash Daignault's car was much more to him than a means of getting from point A to point B.

The young Bremerton resident had poured much time and money into his 2003 Hyundai Elantra: He'd tinted its windows, installed an elaborate stereo system complete with bass-beating subwoofers, and added cold air intake and exhaust systems and strut bars.

So when thieves made off with his ride in late December while it was parked in the Kitsap Mall lot, they stole not only his car,

t his passion — and created an immeasurable financial headache that haunts him to this day.

His story is unfortunately all too common. It's one of hundreds in Kitsap County and one of thousands in Washington, which ranks fourth in the country in automobile theft.

Daignault had been shopping at Kitsap Mall the night of Dec. 30, and can only suspect that somehow his doors failed to lock when he clicked his keyless button. Thieves further capitalized on his car as he'd left a set of keys in the glove box for mechanics who recently had serviced it. His vehicle was parked too far outside the mall's surveillance area for security to identify any suspects.

"The police told me that I wouldn't see the car again in one piece," he recalled.

When he awoke the morning of April 10, thieves had worked their way into his residence and attached garage. Though it was locked, his car inside wasn't, and he'd left a set of keys on the floor in the truck.

"If you have a good vehicle, you become attached to it," Slagle said. "It almost becomes a member of the family."

If that is the case, then Washington drivers are losing a lot of sisters and brothers.

Though Kitsap's car theft numbers remained steady from 2004 to 2005, the state's numbers increased 14 percent — from about 43,000 thefts in 2004 to 49,000 in 2005.

But it is Kitsap's growth, combined with its proximity to King and Pierce counties — where 60 percent of the state's auto thefts are carried out — that gives it the greatest potential for rising auto theft.

"Kitsap County is the dumping ground for King and Pierce counties," said Matt McMillen, an auto theft detective with the Washington State Patrol. "When things get too hot and too heavy (for thieves), they come here. It's just across the bridge but it's a world away."

McMillen, a 13-year veteran of the Washington State Patrol, has spent the last six as an auto theft detective. With long hair, earrings and casual dress, he seems out of place in the state patrol's world of pressed blue uniforms and black bow ties.

He's worked undercover setting up "bait" cars to lure thieves. And he's also worked undercover with an informant at a chop shop, netting entire networks of car criminals.

Elaborate and well-organized networks of thieves steal cars in Pierce and King counties, either breaking down the cars to sell parts or selling them to residents or even dealers by swapping vehicle identification number — or VIN — plates inside cars, he says.

It's a lucrative business that currently doesn't have much of a penalty for perpetrators. Thieves in general must be caught taking about six cars — yes, six — before even facing a year's jail time, according to the state's sentencing guidelines.

"You can be a career criminal and it's going to be virtually impossible for us to get a reasonable sentence," said Kitsap County Prosecutor Russ Hauge.

Car theft is also a difficult crime for police and prosecutors to prove, McMillen said. So his detachment has since pursued nailing offenders with other charges, such as taking a vehicle without the owner's permission, possession of stolen property and trafficking stolen property.

If McMillen and company can prove more than three felonies were committed and there are at least three culprits, a charge of "organized crime," can be tacked on.

"We want to make sure we give the prosecution as much as they need for the case," McMillen said.

Profile of aKitsap Car Thief

Luckily, Kitsap's car theft scene hasn't developed the expansive networks that plague King and Pierce counties, McMillen said. Car thieves here operate in far more rudimentary fashion, generally taking an unguarded car simply to get from point A to point B, or to try and turn a quick buck to fund their next methamphetamine purchase, he added.

Their multifaceted nature as criminals can spell trouble for a victim, however, as car thieves here tend to look for items as well, such as credit cards, drivers licenses and other ID used for identity theft.

"For the victim, probably the most unsettling thing isn't the inconvenience of losing your car," said Frank Scafidi, spokesman for the National Insurance Crime Bureau. "It's having to deal with the subsequent problems of things you've left in the car. It can be a nightmare."

But in many of the Kitsap County Sheriff's Office reports, the victims and the perpetrators even know each other, said Scott Wilson, deputy spokesman.

"It's just not that common for stolen vehicles (to come) out of the blue," Wilson said. It almost always is 'some dude,' they know or the ex that's getting revenge."

The State Patrol isn't waiting for Kitsap's car thieves to start complex theft rings that push up area car theft rates, McMillen noted. It's already assigned two undercover auto theft detectives — McMillen and another to be added in the coming months — to its Bremerton office to tackle the growing problem. There's only three teams of five detectives — based in Tacoma, Spokane and Bellevue — in the whole state.

"It's an untapped market," McMillen said of Kitsap. "There's a need to have detectives."

Out a Car, Short a Culprit

The approximately 600 people who have their cars stolen annually in Kitsap, including Daignault with his Hyundai and Slagle with his Blazer, would undoubtedly agree with McMillen on that point.

Both men's cars were recovered — considerably worse off than when they were taken — but the perpetrators haven't been found.

Slagle's Blazer was discovered in the middle of the night about 11 days after it was stolen. The officer who found it was David Hughes of Bremerton (see story to left).

It had been "run into the ground" — driven until it was out of gas — by the perpetrators and dented on several sides. They took everything in the car of value: the stereo, various tools and even the plastic cup holder from the center console.

But Slagle did get it back in working condition and learned a few lessons in the process. Among them: Even if your car's parked inside a garage, lock it.

He was fortunate the thieves didn't destroy the vehicle or take it apart and sell the parts, as sometimes happens in car theft cases.

"I was elated," he said of getting it back.

Daignault wasn't so lucky.

State Patrol found Daignault's car abandoned quickly — a day after it was stolen — on some motorcycle trails in Belfair.

It had been crashed, smashed up, picked apart and beaten until it was destroyed. The thieves had used Daignault's own tools to cut up his seats, bash in all his windows and lights, slash the tires and dent the exterior. They stole most everything of value in the vehicle that was easily accessible, including most of his stereo equipment.

"They just destroyed it," Daignault said.

After an initial insurance payment, he is also out about $5,000, and loses more money each time he fills the gas tank of his backup car. His 1988 Jeep Cherokee gets about 20 miles to the gallon less than his Elantra.

He has learned certain lessons through the ordeal: Park in well-lit places. Double-check your car to make sure it's locked. And definitely don't leave the keys inside.

He's also learned an unfortunate truth about the county in which he lives:

"It's amazing to me that there are people in Bremerton (and Kitsap) that would do this," he said.